3 strikes you're out

Chapter 2: The note

6th September 2023:

Chris's POV

Ding

I pull my phone out of my jeans to look at the notification. I stare blankly as the message read:

Strike: Chris, Bria and Anya, are you ready to play?

I know I said that I wanted to be chosen but I wasn't serious. I'm scared. I don't know what happens when you lose and I don't plan on finding out either.

My eyes dart up to see whether Bria and Anya have gotten the message too. Judging by the looks on their faces, they are as shocked as I am.

"Guys, what are we going to do?" I ask, biting my lip nervously.

"What do you mean, what are we going to do? You're the one who wanted to play!" Anya half-shouted at me.

Okay, that took me by surprise. I did not expect her to react like that. But I mean, I did just tell them that I wanted to play.

"Yes I know. I'm just asking what we're going to do about it." I replied.
"So," Bria started. "We just need to try and complete the tasks. The police aren't going to believe that this game is the reason people have disappeared. To them, it's just a coincidence that they all happened to play the game."

"So you're saying — " Anya said.

"Shut up, I'm not finished. We could try to tell a teacher about this, but I highly doubt they would believe that we could possibly die. So, let's just go along with this as best as we can and try to find out who is behind it so we can end the game once and for all."

"What happens if we die before we find out who is controlling the game?" Anya asked.

"Yeah, I don't want to die." I added.

"You literally said that you're smart enough to play. Anyway, we just need to think this through more and we should be fine"

My hands tremble in my lap. I shouldn't have said that I wanted to play. I'm so stupid. What was I even thinking? I'm scared to do this — really scared.

We need to find out who is behind this. Maybe I'm overthinking this. What if this is some sick joke and nothing happens if we don't play. I'm about to to suggest we don't play to see what happens but Bria spoke first.

"Guys, let's get off. We're here." Bria said.

The three of us stood up and made it down the narrow staircase and off the bus. We walked into the school in silence and dozens of eyes were on us, watching our every move. Whispers that resemble snakes hissing, lingered around the hallway.

I spot Liam down talking with his group. He turns and we accidentally make eye contact, making him smirk and tilt his head down in amusement. Instinctively, I grab Anya and Bria by their sleeves and shove them into an empty classroom.

"Ow! What the heck, Chris? What was that for? We need to get to class." Anya complained.

"Liam is going to ruin our lives. He definitely knows about us being chosen and if he doesn't, it's not going to be long before he finds out." I tell them.

Liam is my cousin. He is a year older than me and he hates my guts because my dad and his mum had a serious argument.

"We need to keep this game between us, okay? I don't want my parents finding out. They're not going to believe anything we say about the game being deadly because not even the police believe that those people's disappearances are related." I say.

"Yeah, we need to keep this between us because our parents are never going to let us complete the tasks knowing that it's dangerous." Bria says. "We just need to get through this on our own."